There is also the ASUS UX31A-C4033P which is rated by most reviewers as being the best Ultrabook available, (and the one my friend's is looking at getting) although it does cost a lot more - $1595 is about avg price for what at first seems like less features then the R505CB, but then you realise the differences.

The UX31A has a smaller screen 13.3 compared to 15.6 but it is an IPS panel and runs at a higher resolution but the R505CB has a much better graphics card.

The UX31A has 256GB SSD where the R505CB has a bigger but slower 5400rpm platter hdd.

The UX31A has touchscreen, 2x USB 3.0 (the R505CB has no touchscreen and only has 1 USB 3.0 but also 2x USB 2.0 slots).

The UX31A doesn't have a DVD drive (who uses them really these days) unlike the other but then it is also a full 1.0kg lighter then it's counterpart.

Choices, choices, choices.

It just depends what is more important to you, if you have to lug it around a lot is that extra 1kg on the R505CB and the better video card the better option over the lighter faster (yet double the price) UX31A.

Good luck choosing.

" " - Silent Bob

Gamers can really come across with a pathetically huge sense of self entitlement at times

I can only suggest Dell XPS or Alienware when it comes to laptops now as their support is good and they have helped me twice repair notebooks well outside of warranty period at their cost. I have heard horror stories from people over returns to shop/manufacturer that never got repaired - Compare this to standing over the techs shoulder and being able to make sure its fixed.

I don't worry about the weight, unless it's 43kg. The most I'll be lugging it around is onto the plane and off the plane. A decent screen and the ability to run COD4 would be great. Hard drive size is a little bit important as I'll be doing a lot of TV show watching too. As for touch screen, is there really any point? I'll be watching movies/tv shows and playing COD mostly.

R3-5eNn wrote:The most I'll be lugging it around is onto the plane and off the plane. A decent screen and the ability to run COD4 would be great. Hard drive size is a little bit important as I'll be doing a lot of TV show watching too.

Well an IPS screen would be the best (color and viewing angles) but you're going to be spending your whole budget for the screen and then some to get a decent GPU.

R3-5eNn wrote:As for touch screen, is there really any point? I'll be watching movies/tv shows and playing COD mostly.

Personally I've never used them on laptops as it's simply a gimmick, the market expects touch everything now just like 3D which is thankfully dieing off...It's just awkward to reach forward constantly for small things and painful for long term use (unless it's a tablet), plus the touchpads have the same gestures so it's mostly pointless even more so if you're using a mouse.

If you can't choose then flip a coin, If you don't like the choice that comes up then choose the other.

I sent back two laptops (at the end of last year) for hinge repair as they continually break with minimal operation (it seems they haven't cared to change the design) but they didn't fix either of them and even kept one of the batteries. Took just over 2 months to get everything sorted and every interaction was a cluster, nobody had any idea what was going on and I had to resort to threats to get anything happening.

My experience with their PC hardware has been a similar story with lackluster quality, they just don't last as long as competitors products and have always had more problems even ranging back to P4/Athlon64 boards.

I sent back two laptops (at the end of last year) for hinge repair as they continually break with minimal operation (it seems they haven&#39;t cared to change the design) but they didn&#39;t fix either of them and even kept one of the batteries. Took just over 2 months to get everything sorted and every interaction was a cluster, nobody had any idea what was going on and I had to resort to threats to get anything happening.

My experience with their PC hardware has been a similar story with lackluster quality, they just don&#39;t last as long as competitors products and have always had more problems even ranging back to P4/Athlon64 boards.

I&#39;ve had bad experiences with brands before but never to the same continued level of failure over so many years, It&#39;s a case that I really can&#39;t give the usual "Your Mileage May Vary" disclaimer.

R3-5eNn wrote:I was wondering where the windows 7 laptops had gone. I personally don't have any interest in Windows 8 and will probably end up moving to W7 if I end up with a W8 laptop.

You may as well keep it as windows 8, but it is easy enough to make 8 look like 7 but still have the abilities of 8. Having recently installed it on a friends system I found it annoying as hell to set up but once I started to work it out (and some software to put the start key back in) it was quite easy to use and had some features that weren't to bad.

If you do get touchscreen capable notebook then you also have the ability (should you want to) to use the metro interface with 8.

" " - Silent Bob

Gamers can really come across with a pathetically huge sense of self entitlement at times